Cuba and the United States Essays -- Foreign Policy Politics Political

Cuba and the United States The island of Cuba has been a focal point of American foreign policy since the acquisition of Florida in the belatedly 1800s. Cuba continues to capture Americas attention as it is the only existing communist state in the Western Hemisphere. U.S. policy has attempted to topple the communist regime in Cuba since its outset in 1961. Policies designed to incite revolution, destroy the Cuban economy, and starve the Cuban people seem to be at odds with American ideals of body politic and sovereignty. It is, in fact, the precise policies that the United States has implemented that have strengthened and prolonged Fidel Castros reign in Cuba. The relationship between the United States and Cuba is paradoxical in that its very basis is anti-democratic. The United States never has supported the right of the Cuban people to govern themselves and now it has adopted a position of attempting to force on Cuba the semipolitical ideals it deems safe. This examinati on hopes to explain the background of that relationship and the state in which it now exists. Foreign policy in Cuba is fascinating in that it is a story unlike any other in U.S. history. The ability of one small island to dominate the foreign policy concerns of a world power is certainly an subject for inquiry. coercion with the island of Cuba itself is nothing new in the United States. For the last thirty years, the small island just 92 miles off the coast of Florida, has shaped American foreign policy. Cubas geographical location and political structure place it at odds with the United States on all fronts. The close proximity of Cuba to the United States coast places it in the blaze of national security concerns. The map provides a clear ... ...e Secretary General of the United Nations. 20 September 1995. MacGaffey, Wyatt. Twentieth Century Cuba t he stage setting of the Castro Revolution. New York Anchor Books, 1965. Manach, Jorge. Marti Apostle of Freedom. Ne w York Devin-Adair, 1950. Matthews, Herbert. The Cuban Story. New York Harcourt, 1961. Matthews, Herbert. Fidel Castro. New York Harcourt, 1969. Matthews, Herbert. The Fruits of Fascism. New York Harcourt, 1943. Mills, C. Wright. Listen, Yankee. New York Ballantine Books, 1961. Myers, Steven. Clinton Clears Media to Open in Cuba. New York Times, 13 February 1997. A6. Oppenheimer, Albert. Castros Final Hour. New York Macmillan, 1992. Oppenheimer, Albert. Incresingly, Castro Loses dissemble With Cuba. The Miami Herald. 28 July 1992, A12. Phillips, Ruby. The Cuban Dilema. New York